


wrapped up in you

by bunnieju



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Falling In Love, Fraud, M/M, Platonic Soulmates, Trope Subversion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27755620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnieju/pseuds/bunnieju
Summary: Mark and Ten aren't soulmates, at least not by the Red String Corp.'s compatibility calculations, but they don't need to be soulmates to find love within each other's arms.
Relationships: Mark Lee/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten
Comments: 14
Kudos: 51
Collections: Challenge #3 — soulmates





	wrapped up in you

**Author's Note:**

> [playlist for this story](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0syXjh13P5kV5MGB8oovoX?si=R6CcCpfUTQGut8hkDnv0Gw)

The house they lived in was like all the others — white walls, wood floors, tables, chairs, and a bed, but what made it theirs was their most precious memories decorating the walls with smiles and pieces of time eternally captured to remind them of why they did this and why they continue to do this. But Mark knew it wasn’t the four walls and roof that he called his home, it was the arms that wrapped around him, the heartbeat against his back, and lips that pressed to his neck.

Mark leaned into the warmth of the body pressed against him and they began a silent sway of unspeakable murky emotion. 

It wasn’t murky for long, as undeniable joy won over everything else and Mark slipped off his headphones then turned in Ten’s arms to face him. A grin played on Mark’s lips as he saw his emotions mirrored in Ten’s eyes. “Welcome home. Are you ready?”

“I’ve been ready since day one,” Ten leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss on his lips.

They separated, a tingling feeling taking over Mark’s body as they moved from where Mark was working in the living room to sit at the kitchen table where multiple envelopes and packets sat waiting for them. It wasn’t all super important — just some bills, advertisements, and postcards from Johnny, Donghyuck, and Taeyong — but a big white envelope with a red seal stood out among the mail, whether because of the seal or because they’d been anticipating it for so long.

Mark pushed the other mail to a side, and Ten grabbed hold of the envelope with a shaky bandaged hand and a heavy exhale. It was a vulnerability that Mark had the privilege to see, along with every little habit Mark’s observed countless times for as long as they’d known each other.

They’d met seven years prior, albeit not in the most conventional way. 

The restaurant bathroom smelt of bleach and air freshener and the vent loudly whirred as Mark slowly washed his hands at the sink furthest from the door, buying as much time as he could before he had to go back out to face the table of people with too many expectations of him. Mark sighed, shutting off the water, and began contemplating whether to just hide in one of the stalls until everyone left when the bathroom door slammed open, startling him.

In walked a man slightly shorter than him, wearing an outfit way too fancy for the family restaurant they were at and donning the bitchiest expression that could ever be expressed. Mark quickly caught his bearings and averted his eyes back to the sink in front of him, then to the row of hand dryers on the wall next to him as to not piss the man off any further. Mark moved to dry his hands under one of the dryers while attempting to listen for the man’s footsteps, but he heard nothing.

There’s was only so much time Mark could spend avoiding everything and his time was up as soon as the dryer turned off. Mark reluctantly turned around and began making his way to the door, catching sight of the man leaning against the wall next to the door, staring at his feet in defeat.

Then and there Mark made an impulsive split-second decision that in hindsight completely changed the trajectory of their lives.

“ _ Hey, man, _ ” Mark spoke up, nervously placing his hands in his hoodie pockets. “ _ You okay? _ ”

The man looked up in momentary surprise before sighing. “ _ No, in the middle of my first date with my soulmate. _ ”

“ _ That’s usually not a bad thing. Isn’t Red String Corp.’s success rate 99.99% in compatibility calculation? _ ”

“ _ It’s not that...He’s perfect, so perfect really it feels like I don’t even have to try, _ ” Ten sharply sucked in some air. “ _ This...is just a lot, too much to jump into really but I’m 23 and I can’t pay the fines to keep putting off our meeting. _ ”

“ _ The horrors of government-mandated family planning. Divorce is no more! Yeah, because we have no choice. _ ” Mark snorted softly, playing with his fingers inside his hoodie pockets.

“ _ Yeah...it fucking sucks… _ ” Ten rolled his eyes, before setting his eyes on Mark in his bright red hoodie. “ _ What about you, red riding hood? _ ”

“ _ I’m here at a monthly family meeting with my family, soulmate, and his family. _ ”

“ _ You don’t sound too happy about it, _ ” Ten looked around the bathroom before sliding down the wall to sit on the floor and patting the space beside him. “ _ I’ve told you my troubles, it’s only fair you tell me yours. _ ”

“ _ My soulmate’s my childhood best friend and everyone expects us to get registered soon, even if we don’t want to. _ ”

They’d stayed there talking until they couldn’t without sending anyone into a panic, then they exchanged numbers for future meets ups to complain about their soulmate situations. Their meet ups were often limited to bars and shitty diners in the middle of the night after they’d finished their respective jobs, sometimes throwing in the occasional lazy day together when their days off matched up, but Mark wouldn’t trade it for the world. There was a relief that came from bonding with someone that understood him as Ten always had, and they spent their time sharing tidbits of their lives and memorizing each other’s order at ever diner and bar they went to so that they’d waste less time ordering and more time lost in the seemingly meaningless everyday banter they loved so much.

The thing with falling in love is that there’s never a warning, there’s just realization that somewhere in between you’d begun to feel a sped beating of your heart and a warmth in your chest for the love you never even noticed take a hold of you.

Mark’s was just another night at another shitty diner where he was stuck staring at Ten pour seven packets of sugar and five packets of creamer into his bastardization of the concept of coffee. There was nothing special to it, just Ten and another disgustingly sweet coffee that Mark would inevitably make a teasing remark about, but the warm fondness possessing Mark’s body yearned to voice an “ _ I love you _ ” instead. And Mark nearly did before reality shattered right over the scene and he was left with the cold horror of what he'd done to Ten — what he was about to do to the both of them.

" _ Would you like coffee with your sugar and creamer? _ " Mark forced out a laugh instead, willing his heart to forget about it, but the sound of Ten's laughter made it all more real.

It was a chance meeting, one that Mark would never regret no matter how much they had to leave behind. Ten and Johnny realized that their friendship was more valuable than a failed romantic relationship based on unfeeling mathematical calculations. Mark and Donghyuck stopped letting their families dictate their decisions. Mark and Ten had a long way to grow together, four years actually, before it all boiled over in a night outside of the studio Mark worked at and two weeks after he and Ten acknowledged their feelings for each other and decided to stop talking for good.

“ _ Mark, hey, _ ” Ten had greeted him as soon as Mark opened the door of the studio to leave. The rain poured heavily over the city as Ten walked forward to offer Mark some space under his umbrella. “ _ Can I walk you home? _ ”

Mark hesitated for a moment, but that was the last time he ever did when it came to Ten.

Ten ripped at the red seal on the envelope and slid out the small stack of papers that it held -- most of it was unnecessary legal paperwork but one paper, in particular, was what they wanted. At the top, in big bold letters, said “ **OFFICIAL REGISTRATION OF SOULMATE BINDING** ” and within the document their names and soulmate number in italics.

“Fuck, it’s here, we did it,” Ten breathed out. They did do it, even if they had to go through the unsavory and dangerous backend to get a forged binding number into the system, even if everyone warned them that the calculations were perfect while their decisions were not. 

“Can I unwrap yours?” Mark asked, the twinkle in his eyes only getting brighter as Ten nodded in agreement. Mark took Ten’s hand in his and slowly unwinded the bandages to reveal a number tattoed right above the tiny scar where they’d received their chips, before rushing to unwind his own banged hand and reveal his own matching tattoo.

It was like the breath was knocked out of Mark’s lungs when Ten grabbed a hold of his hand and intertwined their fingers, showing off their official bindings.

“Look at that.” Ten whispered in quiet awe. “We match.”

That’s when it all finally sunk in for Mark. Seven years against a system designed for easy and conventional relationships regardless of actual feelings, three years of moving around to avoid raising suspicion, and now they could finally be freely and openly in love. Mark pushed the chair back and stood suddenly but Ten was already anticipating him on his feet with arms wide open.

“I love you I love you I loveyouiloveyouiloveyouiloveyou,” Mark crashed into Ten nearly knocking them both over with tears in his eyes but the widest grin on his face. “Oh my god we fucking match!”


End file.
